October is National Chiropractic Month

Did you know that October is National Chiropractic Month!? What a great opportunity to have your spine and the rest of your aches and pains checked out by a doctor of chiropractic. Chiropractic is a safe, natural, hands-on, non-invasive drugless health care that focuses on the health and wellness of the spine, the nervous system and entire body. What many people don't know is that chiropractic care provides numerous benefits far beyond the simple relief of back and neck pain. Chiropractic care for many individuals has become their wellness care, keeping them healthy, active and pain-free throughout their hectic life schedule. Allow this year's National Chiropractic Month to be the wake-up call you need to put your health first - call your local chiropractor today!

Spinal Manipulation Recommended in New Low Back Pain Guidelines

The American College of Physicians and American Pain Society have just recently released updated clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of low back pain. In the new guidelines these two organizations have strongly recommended the use of spinal manipulation (the most common form of chiropractic care) for the treatment of both acute, subacute and chronic low back pain. According to the study researchers, "… clinicians should consider the addition of nonpharmacological therapy with proven benefits – for acute low back pain, spinal manipulation; for chronic or subacute low back pain… spinal manipulation…". Spinal manipulation (commonly known as chiropractic adjustments) is a hands-on, drug-free therapy provided by chiropractors. In fact, 94 percent of all spinal manipulation therapy in the United States is conducted by doctors of chiropractic. Research has also shown chiropractic care to be more effective and less costly than traditional medical care in a number of other conditions aside from just lower back pain.

Neck Manipulation Extremely Safe

If you've ever heard certain sources claiming that chiropractic spinal manipulation/adjustment of the neck region can be unsafe or downright dangerous, a new study published in the internationally respected journal Spine should help put you at ease. U.K. researchers set out to evaluate the true risk of chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine (neck region). After reviewing data from over 50,000 cervical manipulations, researchers found no reports of serious adverse events. Researchers concluded, "… the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low". Of course, doctors of chiropractic have known for over 100 years that chiropractic manipulation of the spine and joints of the body is not only highly effective, but also extremely safe for their patients.

Meditation Reduces Stress, Increases Attention

Want to improve your mood and attention while simultaneously reducing your overall anxiety, fatigue and depression levels? A new study indicates that less than one week of meditation can provide these effects. The study was comprised of 40 Chinese undergraduates partaking in 20-minute meditation sessions during a period of 5 days. The meditation used was referred to as integrative body-mind meditation that, according to researchers, included body relaxation, breathing exercises, mental imagery and mindfulness training. After the 5-days of meditation, those participating in the meditation had significantly more improvement with attention and mood testing as compared with the control group - those undergoing no meditation. Moreover, those in the meditation group had a significant decrease in stress related cortisol levels as compared with their non-meditation counterparts. Perhaps the most interesting finding in this study was the fact that these results were attained in just 5 days of 20-minute meditation sessions.